Russia and France to team up on ‘re-usable rockets'

"Russian and French engineers are already working in this direction under Project Ural," Putin told a news conference after a meeting of the Russian-French cooperation commission.

The Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos and its French counterpart, Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), are expected to work out a roadmap for bilateral space cooperation. The 15-year Ural program to build advanced reusable carrier rockets was adopted in 2005. CNES Director Yannick d'Escatha has said Project Ural is part of a new rocket launch system that will replace existing carriers.